The present disclosure provides a recombinant oncolytic myxoma vims engineered to express a soluble form of an immune checkpoint protein in conjunction with a cytokine/chemokine and/or a tumor antigen. In certain aspects, the oncolytic myxoma virus is a replication competent virus such as myxoma vims. Methods of cancer treatment comprising administering the recombinant oncolytic myxoma virus expressing the soluble form of the immune checkpoint protein are also provided.

A recombinant viral vector comprising an expression cassette which comprises a coding sequence for an shRNA inhibitor of vasohibin (VASH)-small vasohibin binding protein (SVBP) complex operably linked to regulatory sequences which direct expression thereof is provided. Further provided are compositions containing such viral vectors formulated for delivery to a human patient. Also provided are methods using these vectors and compositions for improving or stabilizing cardiac function.

Methods and compositions for rapid development of reporter lines utilizing safe harbor sites in iPSCS, as well as other progenitor cells, pluripotent and multipotent stem cells and differentiated cells, and multiple Lox sites are provided.

Provided herein are genetically modified arenaviral vectors suitable as vaccines for prevention and treatment of cytomegalovirus infections and reactivation. Also provided herein are pharmaceutical compositions and methods for the treatment of cytomegalovirus infections and reactivation. Specifically, provided herein are pharmaceutical compositions, vaccines, and methods of treating cytomegalovirus infections and reactivation.

Four zebrafish gene promoters, which are skin specific, muscle specific, skeletal muscle specific and ubiquitously expressed respectively, were isolated and ligated to the 5′ end of the EGFP gene. When the resulting chimeric gene constructs were introduced into zebrafish, the transgenic zebrafish emit green fluorescence under a blue light or ultraviolet light according to the specificity of the promoters used. Thus, new varieties of ornamental fish of different fluorescence patterns, e.g., skin fluorescence, muscle fluorescence, skeletal muscle-specific and/or ubiquitous fluorescence, are developed.

Provided is a multicistronic retroviral vector genome having a first nucleic acid sequence upstream of at least one internal regulatory element, such that the level of genomic RNA available for packaging in the absence of rev, or a functional equivalent thereof, is increased.

Compositions and methods are provided for integrating one or more genes of interest into cellular DNA without substantially disrupting the expression of the gene at the locus of integration, i.e., the target locus. These compositions and methods are useful in any in vitro or in vivo application in which it is desirable to express a gene of interest in the same spatially and temporally restricted pattern as that of a gene at a target locus while maintaining the expression of the gene at the target locus, for example, to treat disease, in the production of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, in the large scale production of proteins by cells for therapeutic, diagnostic, or research purposes, in the induction of iPS cells for therapeutic, diagnostic, or research purposes, in biological research, etc. Reagents, devices and kits thereof that find use in practicing the subject methods are also provided.

Provided herein is a modular polycistronic vector system, such as for the genetic reprogramming of cells to express one or more antigen receptors. The modular characteristic of the system allows for exchange of one or more cistrons in addition to one or more components within particular cistrons. In specific embodiments, the modularity of the system allows exchange of components of a chimeric antigen receptor, such as exchange of costimulatory domains, scFvs, hinges, signaling domains, and so forth.

The present invention provides HIV-derived lentivectors which are safe, highly efficient, and very potent for expressing transgenes for human gene therapy, especially, in human hematopoietic progenitor cells as well as in all other blood cell derivatives. The lentiviral vectors comprise a self-inactivating configuration for biosafety and promoters such as the EF1α promoter as one example. Additional promoters are also described. The vectors can also comprise additional transcription enhancing elements such as the wood chuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element. These vectors therefore provide useful tools for genetic treatments such as inherited and acquired lympho-hematological disorders, gene-therapies for cancers especially the hematological cancers, as well as for the study of hematopoiesis via lentivector-mediated modification of human HSCs.

Described herein are compositions and methods for stimulating an immune response to one or more proteins derived from one or more respiratory pathogens. In particular, the invention relates to alphavirus replicons, alphavirus vector constructs, alphavirus replicon particles expressing one or more antigens derived from one or more respiratory pathogens as well as to method of making and using these immunogenic compositions.